Who Didn't Love a Pizza Roll After School?
Kids are notoriously picky eaters. They don't like anything green and would eat chicken nuggets every day if their parents let them. For whatever reason, every generation of kids falls in love with the same types of food while disliking others. Here are 10 foods you loved as a kid and 10 you didn't.
1. Mac & Cheese
Whether it's Kraft Dinner or homemade, mac & cheese is the ultimate kids' comfort food. It's creamy, bright orange, and cheesy enough for even the biggest cheese-loving child. Every bowl was the perfect mix of salty, gooey, and warm.
2. Chicken Nuggets
Every kid can eat an entire plate of chicken nuggets. They're crispy, golden, and fun to dunk in whatever sauce. Kids loved them shaped as dinosaurs or as part of a Happy Meal.
3. PB&J Sandwich
A PB&J sandwich has always been a lunchbox hero. Most kids had their preference about having grape or strawberry jelly as part of the sandwich, but either way it was a beloved flavor and textural combo. This iconic sandwich powered a lot of recess adventures.
4. Pizza Rolls
There was nothing better than coming home from soccer or baseball practice, and having a plate of boiling hot pizza rolls on the table waiting for you. Totino's was the most popular brand, and no matter how much the cheese and sauce burned our mouths, we never slowed down.
5. Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
This fall and winter favorite pairs a gooey and satifying grilled cheese sandwich with a bowl of rich and zesty tomato soup for dipping. This meal is so well-liked by kids, they rarely clock the vegetables in the soup.
6. Spaghetti and Meatballs
This classic Italian dinner felt like a feast for kids. Every kid loves twriling the noodles on a fork and then lapping up the savory sauce. The giant meatballs were the icing on the cake.
7. Fruit Roll-Ups
Maybe we loved this snack as kids because it was as much a toy as a food. Fruit Roll-Ups were sticky, sweet, and turned tongues into colorful artworks.
8. Sugar Cereals
Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs, or Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Every kid has their favorite cereal, and none of them are healthy enough for breakfast. It was all about the sugar rush, the fun commercials, and slurping the sugary milk.
9. Corn Dogs
This carnival favorite eventually found its way into the grocery store freezer aisle. When you were a kid, you probably loved the sweet, crispy batter and walking around chomping into this delicious food. Toss on some mustard or ketchup and you were good to go.
10. Chocolate Pudding Cups
Opening up your lunchbox to find these little plastic cups was like striking gold. The pudding was rich and velvety and just sweet enough. This was the lunch snack that no kid wanted to share.
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1. Broccoli
Every kid in every generation has one thing in common: they detest broccoli. It looks weird and smells funny when steamed. Worst of all, it was the one thing standing between you and dessert.
2. Brussels Sprouts
If broccoli is the number one most hated food for kids, then Brussels sprouts are a close second. These tiny cabbages probably didn't appeal to you much when you were growing up, but you might have warmed to them in adulthood.
3. Spinach
Popeye made kids think that spinach was cool, until they tried some. Its slimy texture when cooked made it kid repellent, and it didn't offer much taste in its raw form.
4. Liver and Onions
Why did parents even serve this to their kids? The smell sent kids running out of the house, and it has a strong, metallic taste. Trying to mask the flavor of liver with onions, another food hated by kids, was a terrible idea. Nothing can truly disguise the taste of liver.
5. Peas
How can something so small and mushy be such a turnoff for kids' taste buds? Your parents probably tried to mix it into pasta or rice, but you always spotted them before they reached your mouth.
6. Tuna Casserole
This classic dish is noodles, canned tuna, and a creamy sauce baked in one dish. As kids, it felt like we were being punished when it hit the table. The smell of the baked tuna didn't help.
7. Plain Oatmeal
Being served a boring bowl of beige food was never appetizing as a kid. Yet, parents still forced us to start our day with a big heaping of plain oatmeal. The only way to save it was to sprinkle some brown sugar on top or add some sweet fruit to it. Even then, it wasn't all that great.
8. Beets
Beets stained everything red, and their earthy flavor was never a match for a kid's palate. Your parents might have referred to them as "nature's candy", but that was just a way to sell it. The flavor was often too intense for us as kids, and we did everything in our power to avoid eating it at dinner.
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9. Meatloaf
Meatloaf was a giant brick of meat with a ketchup glaze. You might think it would appeal to kids, but the texture was strange, and it took a long time to chew. Luckily, some recipes made it more flavorful, but no kid was excited about meatloaf night.
10. Cauliflower
Cauliflower is boring, looks bland, and doesn't offer much flavor. Only as adults do we start to learn that roasting and properly seasoning cauliflower can turn it into a delicious side.
